Angel For Christmas?

Juan Pablo Angel is hoping for some festive cheer to keep Villa at the right end of the league table saying the team have to dig deep to stay in contention for a European place.

In an interview with Villa World he said:

‘December is a big month for Villa. It’s the toughest month of the year. There are a lot of games and we’ve got to dig in and work hard to keep up near the top of the table. If we can do that, it should set us up well to continue that form through to the end of the season.’

‘Our next game at Sheffield United will be tough because even though they are a promoted side, there are no easy games in this league. We have to be ready and compete to get something out of the game. It’s been nice to have some more time to prepare for the match. We had three games in a week which was difficult because we haven’t got a great depth to our squad. That means we’ve stuck with the same players. But we’re confident because we did well at Portsmouth after the defeat against Manchester City. We didn’t play well against Stuart Pearce’s side but we showed character to come back at Fratton Park.’

‘We’ve gone behind a few times in games – like at Portsmouth – but what we’ve been doing this season is showing character to come back and pick up some points. That is great and hasn’t happened in previous seasons. That just shows the character and determination in the side.’

Villa face some tough games over Christmas and the New Year with Manchester United both at home and away – and in the FA Cup – as well as Bolton, Spurs and Chelsea.